Air conditioning

Hi I have been looking at different air conditioning for my home lounge

I have looked at the B & Q options and also at

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air conditioning DIY systems. I have looked at the easy fit Air Forc and Millenniumair models, has any one had any experience with either? have heard that I should go for an inverter system if possible?

Advice for a newby appreciated

-- Hugh

Reply to
Hugh
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A/c? Why? It doesn't get that hot in the UK. Extra insulation an shading is all you need

-- Doctor Evil

Reply to
Doctor Evil

I installed a Millenniumair split unit just over a year ago. Straightforward install, and works well. There was a minor fault with the internal unit - the fan rubbed on the enclosure. I had to modify slightly to get rid of the scraping noise.

I posted a more lengthy post about this before:

Reply to
Grunff

I've also looked at the B&Q Air Force offering, they have a cheaper version on their website for professional fitting only - doesn't come pre-gassed or with the plug-'n'-socket arrangement on the coolant pipes. The DIY version is quite attractive, but like you I'd like some feedback before buying! Noticed they also stock wall brackets for £15 and a suitable core drill for £15 also.

Reply to
Alan

I have a question about the systems that come with pre-gassed pipework. What do you do if the pipes are too short? What do you do if the tubes are too long?

s
Reply to
s--p--o--n--i--x

I guess that's a side effect of this type of system. Long pipes can be coiled in loft space or floor void, short ones..... dunno, go for a pro install version! The B&Q unit comes with 4m of pipes - more than enough for my proposed installation.

Alan.

Reply to
Alan

I have heard that the Millenniumair unit allows you to shorten the pip work, my " run " is maybe 2m tops and i have read on their site " globa cooling" that you can shorten these with the hire tools and then remake this sounds much neater as i would not need the 4m anyway.

I will check out your answer grunff, if you say yours is good, then will probably go this way.

It does get humid even " oop north" and I live close to a school an work nights so leaving windows open is a bit noisy

-- Hugh

Reply to
Hugh

It is often the "pro install" bit that is the killer price wise I have found. Last year when I had the top off the house, it seemed like an ideal opportunity to sort out "whole house" aircon. Finding the kit was not that difficult, and prices were not unreasonable - I could have got coverage for most rooms for well under two grand. However many suppliers were not prepared to just supply the kit and insisted it would have to be "installed". The installers however wanted several times the price of the kit for what sounded like (at most) a couple of days work. It did seem there was a certain "closed shop" attitude prevalent.

Reply to
John Rumm

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House designs and locations vary, some never overheat, some are absolutely intolerable for months each year.

I wouldnt fit a/c at all, there are better options. I'd go with:

  1. If you want the full ac effect, put in an earth pipe. Theyre effective, cost no more than a/c, and very energy efficient, meaning costs hardly a thing to run.

But in many cases its not really needed, as a handful of simpler technologies can each bring temp drops of a few degrees here and there, adding up to complete comfort. For a lower impact approach:

  1. a big external fan on a timer, or better on a differential thermostat. I've had typically 4-6C drop with this arrangement, max
10C. The idea is to run it evening and night only, bringing in cooler air for hours cools down the house structure so you get less peak temp in the next day. Note that one is not much use, you need 2 arranged to give a through draft. With more thought it may be poss to arrange this passively: this is a better option when implementable.

Add similar in loft too, lofts cook in summer.

  1. Deciduous climbers on the south facing wall really do help, just work out how many kW is hitting that wall all day every day thru summer. That alone will gain you another 2-3 degrees.

  1. I assume youve already got ceiling fans everywhere.

NT

Reply to
bigcat

The problem I find with the UK is that even with an unbearably humid day the evenings can still be very cool so I wouldn't want my house any cooler at night thanks. In the UK it's the humidity not the temperature that is the problem. I'm digging out my garden at the moment and might lay an earth pipe as an experiment.

Reply to
adder1969

Well, it's been good *so far*. I'm told to expect 10-15 years life out of it, using it most days over the summer. If I get 10 years, I'll be pretty happy. But it's early days.

Reply to
Grunff

That is why you have aircon in its true sense - not just cooling.

Reply to
John Rumm

Making a second loft hatch that has a 'box fan' or similar built in is a good way of ventilating house and loft.

Problem with modern houses is that it can be difficult to get cool air coming into a bedroom on the top storey from the window unless there is a prevailing wind. The above would fix that and help the loft and ceiling to cool down.

Also moving bed close to open window in summer can help.

cheers, Pete.

Reply to
Pete C

I have a box fan and might try this as an experiment.

So, the fan should be blowing into the loft to cool it. Should it be run during the day (To cool the hot loft) or run at night (To draw cold air into the house)?

Reply to
s--p--o--n--i--x

Hi,

I doubt it would cool the loft much in the day but it will help cool it quicker in the evening, and cool the house when indoor temps start to rise above outdoor.

So I'd switch it on or set a timer for when the indoor temp may start rising above outdoor (an indoor/outdoor thermometer would help to determine this) then switch off at daybreak.

For a more permanent install some louvres would help hide the fan itself, and rubber or foam bushings to minimise any fan noise.

If on broadband a program like 'Weather Exchange' is good for monitoring outdoor temperatures etc:

cheers, Pete.

Reply to
Pete C

Hi,

What time of day generally does it start when using a differential thermostat, and does the time vary a lot either side of this?

cheers, Pete.

Reply to
Pete C

it is sometimes necessary to limit how cold it gets at night. Thermostats take care of the comfort zone.

On cold nights, what happens is the house air cools until the stat switches the cooling ventiaion off, then temp rises again due to stored heat, so the cooling ventilation comes on again etc.

If that were really true,

  1. people would use a dehumidifier instead of a/c, whereas in reality it doesnt make much difference

  1. evaporative coolers, which improve comfort by several degrees (but thats all) would make things worse not better.

RH does matter, but it seems to have been blown out of proportion in popular thinking.

excellant. If you can put 20-30' of 4" pipe 1m down you should be able to get seriously cold in summer. Anything less should give you more reasonable cooling levels.

NT

Reply to
bigcat

Its normally necessary to open 2 windows on oposite sides to get a through draught.

Ideally you want more air throughput than a small box fan will normally give - it should help, but I doubt it would be dramatic.

If youve got sash windows, opening the top half rather than the bottom gives you another 1C apx benefit.

NT

Reply to
bigcat

It depends what else youve got going, but in mosts cases all the time

24/7. Only if youre doing enough to get interior temps below outdoor temps is it worth switching such a fan off.

But what... it is cheaper and more reliable to use natural airflow instead of electric fans. Its also a damn sight nicer to have silence than some horrible noise all day and night.

How to use natural airflow? 2 loft vents, the thermostatic greenhouse venting kind. They need no power, and open a window when it gets hot. You need 2 to get crossflow. Sticking a fan in is easier of course.

NT

Reply to
bigcat

lofts really cook in summer. Thats one reason upstairs is always hotter than down. Really though you want a lot of ventilation, and a box fan isnt a lot.

it does, so does opening windows.

Yeah. I found that proper control gave a lot more result than rough control. A dif stat really is important if you want to get a decent result from it. Without this, the results arent there.

I would not put a fan on the loft floor at all, it will be a real annoyance. If you want to try it, sure, but almost any fan is going to make an unacceptable racket at night.

Fitting extra window locks that allow you to have the top 2" of the windows staying open is more useful. And putting in crossflow ventilation in the loft to cool that down.

ahh, not heard of that before. Will go look. It offers weather news, but I saw no mention of real time temp measurement.

I didnt find any commercial diff stats, need to make your own. Not hard though.

NT

Reply to
bigcat

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